Future Instrumentation at Gemini

Gemini has released GIFS, the Gemini Instrument Feasibility Studies, to gather science cases and instrument ideas for our next instrument Gen4#3. We received 8 proposals and are in the downselect and contract negotiation process now. We hope to announce the selected teams and instrument ideas in March, 2015. Each selected team will present their in progress ideas at the coming Gemini Future and Science Meeting in Toronto, Canada, in June 2015, with final reports due in September, 2015. Please see the Gen4#3 blog for updates.

Gemini High-resolution Optical SpecTrograph (GHOST)

Gemini has contracted with the Australian Astronomical Observatory
(AAO) for the continued design and construction of the Gemini High-resolution
Optical SpecTroraph (GHOST). The AAO has, in turn, subcontracted NRC-H for the construction of the spectrograph and The Australia National University (ANU) for instrument software. The project completed and passed its Preliminary Design Review in December, 2014 and is now getting ready to start the Critical Design Stage. GHOST will provide two-object plus sky spectroscopy with full wavelength coverage from ~360 - 1000 nm at resolutions from 50,000 to 75,000.

Gemini Remote Access to CFHT ESPaDOnS Spectrograph (GRACES) – GRACES is a collaboration between CFHT, National Research Council of Canada - Herzberg (NRC-H), and Gemini, which started out as a experiment to combine the large collecting area of the Gemini North telescope with the high resolving power of the ESPaDOnS spectrograph at CFHT to deliver high resolution spectroscopy across the optical region. The team successfully employed a commercial fiber, 270m in length, to bring light from Gemini to ESPaDOnS, resulting in R ~ 50,000 echelle spectroscopy between 400 and 1,000 nm, with expected throughput redward of 550 nm meeting or exceeding that of currently available high-resolution spectrographs on other 8-10 m class telescopes. The experiment successful, we are now endeavoring to make blocks of GRACES time availale for Gemini users starting 2015B. For more information please visit the ESPaDOnS webpage at CFHT, and the GRACES page here.

GRACES - A collaboration between Gemini, CFHT, and NRC-H, to feed the efficient ESPaDOnS spectrograpg at CFHT with highr photon flux obtained from the 8m Gemini North telescope.

For more historical documents concerning past instrument development, including the Aspen Process, please see this page